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A City of Heroes movie?

I know that Tom DeSanto purchased the movie/TV rights to COH around 2007 and talked about making a movie set during the first Rikti invasion.

I'm not saying that I believe there is any real chance of a COH movie being made but I think the idea poses some interesting questions.

Would there actually be any point in doing this now?

Superhero movies are certainly still in vogue. However DeSanto did say at the time that he wanted the Rikti invasion storyline because there still hadn't been a good "superheroes vs aliens movie" which we subsequently got (to a certain extent) with 'The Avengers'.

Would anyone other than fans of the game even want to see a film like this with a bunch of heroes that are not known to the majority of the public?

The TV/movie rights to all sorts of properties like CoH are routinely bought and sold. While I can only guess at the exact number of these that actually go all the way to becoming reality I can reasonably guessimate the percentage is in the single digits. I was aware that the TV/movie rights to CoH were bought some years ago but even at the time I surmised that nothing would come of it.

The idea of a CoH-based movie being made now seems practically impossible given the situation with Ncsoft and their unwillingness to release any kind of rights to the property. I suppose if someone offered them a ridiculously huge amount of money ($50+ million or more?) to get them to cooperate they probably would - they'd be stupid not to. But given the chances of that happening is effectively nil I basically don't see it ever happening. Of course if CoT becomes a success there's always a chance a movie about it might be made. But even if that even becomes remotely possible that's probably at least 5 or 10 years away at best.

As far as "superhero movies based on heroes no one has ever heard of" there have been several decent examples of that, including (but not limited to) TV shows like Heroes and movies like Mystery Men, Unbreakable, The Kick-Ass movies and even things like The Incredibles (which is finally getting a sequel made for it). So the market is there for "no-name hero" shows as long as they're good of course.

Lothic wrote:
...given the situation with Ncsoft and their unwillingness to release any kind of rights to the property.
On that topic, have you seen this thread over on the Titan Network? http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,9675.0.html
I'm reserving judgment at the moment, but it does make me wonder whether they might be more willing than we thought.

Which makes me smile to myself, because I always knew that there was more to the story than "NCsoft is Evil". I didn't have any internal links to the company concerning the CoX situation, but I always had a gut feeling in that NCsoft were not being total dicks towards Paragon Studios concerning the buy out of the game.

Hell, in an interview over on gamasutra, Matt Miller said that there were a couple of sticking points that *neither side* were willing to compromise on. So that shows that part of the blame could potentially be laid at the feet of Paragon Studios as to why it all went tits up.

Side note: Typically speaking, the movie/tv rights to a game are far easier to get your hands on than the *total* IP... and it doesn't require the owning studio to give anything else up. However, DeSanto has had the rights for a long time, and it just sitting on it (just like Sony did with Fantastic 4, which explains why they are rebooting it now).

Have the TV/Movie rights expired for CoX? Who knows...

But I will say that generally speaking, most video game adaptations *stink* movie wise...

—

Quote:

1) I reject your reality.... and substitute my own
2) Not to be used when upset... will void warranty
3) Stoke me a clipper i will be back for dinner
4) I have seen more intelligence from an NPC AI in TR beta, than from most MMO players.

Lothic wrote:
...given the situation with Ncsoft and their unwillingness to release any kind of rights to the property.
On that topic, have you seen this thread over on the Titan Network? http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,9675.0.html
I'm reserving judgment at the moment, but it does make me wonder whether they might be more willing than we thought.

I couldn't do it. I'm staking a LOT on CoT and I couldn't jump back into CoH after what happened the first time. Wounds run too deep. I MIGHT use it to keep me occupied until CoT launched but likely not. I have RL to do that now.

My biggest concern would be that if CoHLite actually DID launch it would draw attention from CoT and that would be bad.

Lothic wrote:
...given the situation with Ncsoft and their unwillingness to release any kind of rights to the property.
On that topic, have you seen this thread over on the Titan Network? http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,9675.0.html
I'm reserving judgment at the moment, but it does make me wonder whether they might be more willing than we thought.

I wouldn't deny that there might always be some combination of circumstances that would make NCsoft reconsider their position on CoH even at this late date. But like you implied I'll believe it when I see it.

For what it's worth I'd be willing to pay some kind of subscription/fee for a "resurrected" CoH, but frankly I'd only do that with the firm intention of it being a strictly temporary stop-gap while continuing to wait for CoT to launch. As much as I loved CoH the fact that it'd still be based on a dated and practically unserviceable game engine means that at best someone might be able to host a live server of a static version of CoH without much hope of ever seeing new content. That might be nice to have for say another year or so, but ultimately the only viable future we're likely going to get is moving on to something like CoT in the long run.

Yeah, I know what you mean. While I'd like to have access to all my old characters again, if I'm honest I'm actually more excited about the possibilities for CoT at this point. Like you, I'd probably pay a sub just to have something to play till CoT release, with the added reassurance of having some kind of "insurance" MMO in case CoT turns out to have some core design feature that, for me, makes it feel too different from CoX to enjoy. What I hope for is a CoT I enjoy so much that I actually would rather play it than old CoX.

Surprised that with the Marvel Cineverse out there, they haven't reconsidered already. But that's by the by. Looking forward to Titans.

In the meantime, Dr. Amy Weaver has been investigating The Secret World, which is the first time I've ever encountered a "learning cliff face" as opposed to a learning curve. Insanely difficult but great when you conquer a challenge.

"My biggest concern would be that if CoHLite actually DID launch it would draw attention from CoT and that would be bad."

I agree Comicsluvr and here is a comment that I know "swims against the tide" but I believe nonetheless: it's time for MWM to can the eulogies for the predecessor, promote the successor and view this effort as a potential competitor. And it's a potential competitor that offers several advantages including (1) a ten year head start in development, (2) a cult-like following that, to their credit, won't take no for an answer and (3) would almost certainly have less cost associated with it to both produce and play.

Does that imply MWM needs to be mean? Of course not! Nobody likes mean. I'd settle for less of a perception that MWM and Titan Networks are "in bed together". But (sigh) I know not everyone agrees...

I'm not really holding my breath for them to actually succeed with "Zombie" CoH. And even if they do manage to resurrect the game on a private server or what have you - I'm pretty sure there will be no further development on the game. oh - they might be able to switch on some of the stuff that was already in and hidden in the code for later release - but the engine was notoriously difficult to work with even for people who were familiar with it.

Basically it would be a nice diversion until we see what the 3 "spiritual successors" have to offer - these would be newer games built on newer tech and with the benefit of hindsight. Granted - they would need time to get close to the amount of content available in COX at closure, but all that would take is a bit of time and effort. Personally - I think CoT has the potential to surpass both CoH and it's own "Plan z siblings" in all areas - thus I am here.

My last comment and sorry for the threadjack on the movie. I also agree with you Interdictor on CoT's potential and that is why I am here too. The thing is I once had the exact same feeling about CoH. But that was before they made a series of bonehead business and development moves that left me and others shaking our heads. Those within the CoH community who saw the direction CoH was headed early on were openly ridiculed for preaching doooooom... by some of the same people who wept the loudest when CoH closed.

My point is I'm "once bit and twice shy" about potential. I'm not on the inside of what is going on at MWM and, frankly, I don't want to be. But I will say that to surpass CoH (and other Plan Z siblings) they are going to need a better product, a better business plan and a more universal appeal (which implies less catering to special interest groups while turning one's back on other segments of the player base). If I can help facilitate that I will.

Back on track, I would totally pay for a CoX movies released to DVD. I still enjoy watching many of the youtube vids still around. After launch, when they have more resources, CoT might want to consider making a movie direct to download. If the game is good, the fans will buy it. Might also increase exposure into the realm of non-gamers

Back on track, I would totally pay for a CoX movies released to DVD. I still enjoy watching many of the youtube vids still around. After launch, when they have more resources, CoT might want to consider making a movie direct to download. If the game is good, the fans will buy it. Might also increase exposure into the realm of non-gamers

I know that the Clear Skies trilogy of films for Eve Online got a few of my friends interested in the game. Sure, that game might not be perfect, but it was a good trilogy none the less.

Yes, I am aware that the film uses Half Life 2 character models for the people, and mixes both Eve Online and Half Life 2 footage together, but the music and plot is what grabbed me; in fact, it grabbed me so much, when it was available to purchase on Bluray, I ordered it :D

1) I reject your reality.... and substitute my own
2) Not to be used when upset... will void warranty
3) Stoke me a clipper i will be back for dinner
4) I have seen more intelligence from an NPC AI in TR beta, than from most MMO players.

A CoH movie is not for me. I would watch it and,through the whole thing, be thinking My toons would/wouldn't have done That! it would be very distracting and detract from what they were trying to represent. We were a part of that game, our play and comments shaped it. A movie is just one persons, or worse a committees, vision. It would only be in harmony with those with the same vision. To others, it would ring false because of the memories we formed with other visions (players) in the game.

As for reviving CoH (zombie or otherwise), not worth it. CoT will make it look old and sick when it comes out. That's just the way it is. 11-ish years have gone by since it was being developed and came out, and in computer/programming terms, that's like 6 generations. The comparison between games will be like taking a Civil War soldier and dropping him on a modern battlefield and saying "Its up to you to win this war!" You may have nostalgia for the Civil War, but have no illusions about the difference time makes.